Popular cafe keeping the charm despite owner's retirement

Tucked away about 14 miles northwest of Boulder, the mountain town of about 250 people is generally known for its hippie vibe and as a popular stop for cyclists making their way along James Canyon.

Jamestown Mercantile owner Joey Howlett and Rainbow Shultz sit at a table at the cafe Thursday. Howlett has owned the cafe since 1992 and is selling the business to Shultz next month.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

But Jamestown --where the main street stretches only a few hundred feet and is made up of a post office, church and town hall -- is perhaps most famous for its Mercantile Cafe.

For decades, the cafe has been the center of activity in Jamestown. With original wooden floors that date back to when the building first served as the town post office and general store in the early 1900s, the cafe hasn't changed much over the years.

Now, owner Joey Howlett is selling the business after 18 years of working to turn what was a financially struggling cafe that served cold sandwiches into a destination for locals and tourists alike.

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"This place is really the heart of the community," said Howlett, 69, who plans to retire from the business but still take time to make batches of green chili for it. "We keep the tempo of the community. This is where everyone comes."

He isn't exaggerating.

Jamestown is the kind of place where everyone really does know your name, and Howlett proves it by welcoming almost everyone who comes into the cafe by first name. Signs of just how important the cafe is to residents can be seen splashed all over the building, including a collage of photos pinned to the back wall.

The pictures illustrate two decades of memories with customers, their families, musicians and singers who have made the Mercantile their home away from home.

Howlett purchased the cafe in 1992 after traveling the country for 30 years selling clothing to retail stores. A native of Portland, Ore., Howlett vowed never to live in a big city again after moving to Colorado in 1969.

"James Canyon was the place I selected," he said. "I always thought there was opportunity here."

For Howlett, opportunity came in the form of the Mercantile, affectionately known by locals simply as "the Merc."

For five years, keeping the business afloat was a struggle, Howlett said. He began taking out loans during the winter to pay employees and the cafe's bills, paying himself back in the spring after tourists and cyclists returned to the hills.

In 1997, the business turned a financial corner. Its savior was a liquor license, which was twice denied by what Howlett said were conservative elements of the town council.

The Merc opened for the first time with a liquor license on St. Patrick's Day.

"From that point, the business has been viable," Howlett said.

Adding to his homegrown business model, Howlett began to invite musicians and singers to perform in the evenings.

"We have nurtured a huge amount of musicians," he said. "People come and play here for beer and dinner."

Chris Sheldon is a Jamestown resident and musician. He said the Merc provides a unique, comfortable and welcoming place for aspiring artists to share their craft.

"It's cool to have a place like that," he said. "It's just something you don't find much anymore."

The cafe also began catering to its cycling clientele, with Howlett putting out free 5-gallon buckets of Gatorade and water for riders to enjoy on the side of the road, as well as paying for a portable bathroom outside.

Cyclists who forget to bring their wallets are often handed an IOU with an address to send in the money for their meal later. Howlett said they usually do.

"This is the most popular bike ride, maybe in the entire country," Howlett said.

He said the freebies don't help his bottom line, but they are important gestures of the "good will" that he has worked to cultivate in the town among cyclists, residents and drivers.

Sandra Huzyk, a Denver cyclist who stopped by the Merc on Friday for a cup of coffee and a snack, said the cafe is a godsend for weary riders.

"The welcoming aspect is very important," she said. "When you come to a welcoming place, it sticks with you."

But the Merc has become more than just a place for a quick meal.

Inside the cafe is an area for children to play, filled with mostly antique toys that Howlett said have been left by visitors over the years. There's also a small library, one of the only ATMs in town, Internet access and phones that ring off the hook with callers looking for people in town -- because chances are if they aren't at home or work, they're at the Merc, Howlett said.

It's also a place for the small community to rally together. The night that Jamestown residents were allowed to return home following the 2003 Overland Fire, Howlett opened the Merc and fed all of his neighbors for free.

When people are displaced from fires or floods, he said, "We can always boil water for coffee; the beer always stays cold."

Later this year, Jamestown resident Rainbow Shultz will take over the Merc. A 35-year-old mother of two, Shultz first started working for Howlett about five years ago.

"It seemed like sort of a good thing to do," she said, after finding out she was pregnant with her first child, Kofi.

Shultz has a master's degree in social work but said she wants to take on the legacy of the cafe. She doesn't plan to change much about it, except for adding to the menu, using more locally produced foods and making her own sauces.

"We're trying to step up the quality of the food, but keep the charm as well," she said.

While she said she doesn't see herself filling the role of town ambassador and counselor that Howlett created, Shultz said, "It's always gonna be the Merc."

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